Girl Power
by Not A Stranger
Summary: Erica offers Julianne a sparring lesson. From the show Breakout Kings.


"Dammit."

The hushed curse caught Erica's attention and she looked up from a folder of information on the latest fugitive. Charlie was in his office and Ray was off-site with Shea and Lloyd. That meant that Julianne, currently hunched over her laptop, was the one who swore.

Erica decided she must have imagined things and went back to her reading. Then she heard the same curse, a little louder, and this time there was no mistaking the feminine voice. She looked up again. Julianne was glaring at her computer screen and futilely clicking on the mouse button. The laptop beeped in protest. "Something wrong?" Erica asked, setting aside her folder.

Julianne looked up at Erica before ducking her head. "Sorry," she replied, embarrassed. "Sometimes I talk to myself when I'm having computer trouble, I didn't mean to interrupt you."

Erica sighed inwardly, wishing she hadn't said anything. She normally gave the other woman a wide berth, but not out of disdain. Despite her own tough-as-nails approach to life, she admired Julianne's gentleness. The world needed gentle people; her daughter needed gentle people if she was going to grow up right. No, the reason she avoided Julianne was because the poor girl was already nervous enough. She had Charlie chewing her out for the tiniest things and Lloyd sniffing after her like a perverted puppy. She did not need the scary con with anger issues bothering her, too. "It's okay, you weren't interrupting. Anything I can help with?"

"It's an internal glitch. I'll do a hard reboot and it should be okay." Julianne didn't sound so sure, but Erica wasn't in a position to help. Computers weren't her specialty; she did bounty hunting like her father did, the old-fashioned way. She was about to pick her folder back up when Julianne spoke again, this time barely above a whisper. "It's just so frustrating… I wish I could hit something."

"So why don't you?"

"Oh…" Julianne smiled nervously and played with her scarf. "I'm not really good at… at venting like that. I don't even know how to throw a punch."

"I could teach you." Julianne started to protest, but Erica cut her off with a hand wave. She liked this idea. "C'mon, stand up. Your computer needs to reboot anyway, right? It'll be a great way to let off some steam." Reluctantly, Julianne stood up, her fingers still tangled in the ends of her scarf. "Okay, first things first. Throw a punch for me so I know what I'm working with."

Julianne made a fist with her right hand and swung a punch that wouldn't have left a bruise on a ripe peach. Erica tried not to grimace. "Let's try that again, but put more force behind it, like this." Erica threw her own punch, a speedy jab that cut through the air. "And make sure not to overextend, you'll end up off balance."

They practiced for a while, Erica making suggestions and corrections after every punch. "I'm sorry I'm so slow," Julianne lamented. Erica shook her head.

"Don't be. Better to start out slow. The first time I sparred with my dad, I sprained my wrist."

"He taught you how to fight?"

From anyone else, a question about her father would make Erica bristle defensively, reluctant to open wounds that still felt fresh. But coming from Julianne, it didn't hurt so much. "Yeah," she replied, smiling sadly. "He taught me everything I know."

Ray, Shea, and Lloyd heard the laughter before they opened the elevator doors. Julianne was still throwing punches, this time hitting Erica's open palms. The bounty hunter weaved from side to side, forcing the other woman to aim her hits.

Ray slammed the heavy metal door shut and Julianne froze mid-punch. "What the hell is going on?" He demanded.

Julianne blushed and scurried back to her laptop, stuttering an apology. Erica frowned and crossed her arms, defiant. "We were just having a little fun. You have a problem with that?"

Ray sputtered. Erica's gaze flickered quickly over the other two men. Shea looked amused. Lloyd was staring at Julianne in unabashed wonder. Creep. "Erica. My office, now," the bald cop snapped. Erica huffed and followed him, arms still crossed.

It wasn't until they were both in the office with the door closed that Ray spoke again. "What were you up to, Reed? You're here to catch a fugitive, not give fighting lessons."

Erica rolled her eyes. "Her computer was down and she needed to let off a little steam. She's not made of glass, I won't break her by teaching her a thing or two."

"You'd better not. You're skating on thin ice as it is." He stared at her in silence, gaze hard, before asking suddenly, "Did she learn anything?"

Erica shrugged. "She could probably take out Lloyd now, but that's not saying much."

A ghost of a smile passed over Ray's face. "All right. But playtime is over now. We've got a murderer on the loose. Get back to work."

Erica was not the type to get the warm fuzzies. She was the type to squash fuzzies under her shoe and then sweep them into the garbage. But when she exited the office and caught Julianne's eye, the blond flashed her a shy smile, and that smile made her feel something – something good.

She smiled back.


End file.
